It was okay. I don't really have much to say about it. Except, the following points:
The venue. There really wasn't enough space in the Match Bar to comfortably mingle, causing everyone to either bottleneck uncomfortably in the middle of one long section, or else to get stuck 'round tables in The Bridge area (that's what they call it), where there wasn't really enough room to mix it up. As a result, it seemed that there was a lot of sticking with people you already knew instead of really mixing it up.
The cocktails. And here I'm going to get pedantic again, so if you don't care about well-made cocktails, just skip this bit. Firstly, their Bellini is too sweet, needing a bit more cava to cut the sickliness of the fruit (and, to be extremely pedantic, the "strawberry Bellini" they gave me is more correctly called a Rossini). Secondly, they claim that their American cocktail advisor invented the Bramble cocktail, when in fact it is a very English invention using very English ingredients. The Match Bar version is tangy and refreshing, but with too much lemon juice it's not as accurate as it should have been. (Sorry to get pedantic again, but if you're going to lay claim to the credit you could at least get the bloody thing right!)
The people. Although I was mostly catching up with people I already knew, I did meet some nice new people. Unfortunately, I was a bit too spaced to remember who they all were (should have eaten something). If you're reading this, say hi!
The pants. Why? I mean, srsly, why? Nope.
The goodie bags. More to the point, the fact that I don't want any of this stuff and now I don't know what to do with it! Not because I'm a prude, but because I already have the stuff I need (I'm not stupid), and this looks like it's just going to end up getting chucked. Makes you wonder just how much landfill is taken up by unwanted sex accoutrements, eh?
The bloke dressed as a ringmaster. Again, why? We still don't know. Or who he was. Anyone have any ideas?
Hmmm… Looks like I had a lot to say, after all.
on Dec 18th, 2008 at 1:14 am
Just a point of order: Dick Bradsell *did* invent the Bramble for matchbar; unfortunately it's a high-risk cocktail, slightly hard to balance correctly – and if the bartender doesn't care, it will show in the cocktail.
on Dec 18th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Teh pants. I assumed (from the pictures, I'm far to crap at time management to actually get to Twinterval) some sort of marketing to drive traffic to the website. I bet it's worked, too – now they can make loads of ad revenue (prbly)
on Dec 18th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
There seems to be a lot of bars who claim that they invented common cocktails – I was at The Cuban underneath Citypoint the other week and they claimed to have invented the "Rum Old Fashioned", despite my having been making them (after reading about them in a recipe book) since before their building was constructed…
on Dec 18th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
@Chris: Dammit, I hate it when I'm pedantic and wrong. That's so embarrassing! Thanks for clarifying that point, though.
I did actually look online for some kind of proof one way or the other, but couldn't find anything, so guessed that Bradsell had concocted it in his own bar. Especially as on Match Bar's menu they credit several other bartenders with inventing drinks but he's not even mentioned by name. I assumed that was because, as Billy suggests, it wasn't really their own cocktail to claim credit for, as so many bars do claim credit for things which are not of their invention.
As for mixing the actual drink, if it is one of theirs, it's a pity that it was the least successful version I've ever had (it's actually one of my favourite cocktails, so I have had a few, to say the least). It really tasted more like a lemon drop made with gin — not unpleasant (very refreshing), but not a Bramble, either.
@Steve: yes, I know. It was more of a rhetorical, "why do something so horribly cheesy?" than a "why do it at all?" kind of question. Twit or Fit is pretty cheesy anyway — it's just "hot or not" for people on Twitter. Ugh.